Novartis to close down antibiotic research operations

Novartis AG will close its antiviral and antibiotic research and development (R&D) operations in the US city of San Francisco, according to media reports on July 12th citing a company statement. The Swiss drugmaker's exit will reportedly lead to the loss of around 140 jobs. It is currently in discussions to licence its development programmes at the antibiotic unit with other specialist companies.

Among the antibiotic products being developed by the company at the R&D centre include the drug candidate, LYS228. The drug is currently being tested to treat complex intra-abdominal and urinary tract infections. Novartis reportedly said that Sandoz, its generics and biosimilars division, will continue producing its existing antibiotics portfolio.

A Novartis spokesperson told the Economist Intelligence Unit that the San Francisco Bay area will continue to house the company's Novartis Institute for Tropical Diseases while it explores other options with a smaller footprint in the area. Novartis decided to exit its research operations in San Francisco to focus on developing medicines "in other areas".

The decision comes just a month after it said that it would spin off its eyecare business unit, Alcon Inc, into a separate entity, as it continues to develop its ophthalmology pharmaceuticals business. Novartis's exit from antibiotics research mirrors that of other drugmakers such as the UK's AstraZeneca Plc, which divested its small-molecule antibiotics unit in 2016. Ireland's Allergan Plc announced this year that it plans to sell its infectious diseases business unit.